No.  608 


Our  Indian  Schools 
in  South  Dakota 


DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONS 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America 

281  Fourth  Avenue 
New  York 





Our  Indian  Schools  in  SouthDakota 

WHEN  the  Church  called  Bishop  Hare  to  under- 
take the  great  task  of  Christianizing  the  Sioux 
nation  and  sent  him  out  as  Bishop  of  Niobrara,  he  im- 
mediately recognized  that  the  first  step  must  be  the 
establishment  of  Christian  schools.  Before  he  had  been 
in  the  field  two  years  he  had  two  schools  in  operation, 
and  was  urging  the  missionaries  to  gather  little  groups 
of  children  for  regular  instruction  in  places  where  board- 
ing schools  were  impossible. 

Later  on  more  schools  were  founded,  until  tlie  number 
reached  five.  Then  a crushing  blow  fell  which  blotted 
out  two  of  these  institutions  and  made  the  sale  of  a 
third  inevitable.  Up  to  that  time  the  government  in 
issuing  rations  had  allowed  tl  at  those  for  children  in 
boarding  schools  be  sent  to  the  institution  where  they 
were  in  residence.  This 
practical!}'  provided  their 
maintenance,  so  far  as 
food  was  concerned ; but 
in  the  summer  of  1901  a 
law  was  passed  cutting 
off  at  a stroke  these  sup- 
plies. This  meant  the 
raising  of  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  for 
maintenance  or  the  clos- 
ing of  some  schools. 

Saint  Paul’s  and  Saint 
John’s  respectively  on 
the  Yankton  and  the  bueu:sox, 

S.  T.  D. 

Cheyenne  reservations,  Bishop  of  South  Dakota 


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were  abandoned.  Hope  School^  at  Springfield,  on  the 
edge  of  the  Santee  reservation,  was  sold  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  only  Saint  Mary’s,  on  Rosebud,  and  Saint 
Elizabeth’s,  on  Standing  Rock,  survived  the  disaster. 

Yet  today  the  work  of  these  vanished  schools  goes  on. 
Among  the  clergy  a majority  are  the  product  of  these 
institutions,  and  the  best  among  the  loyal  laity  have 
been  pupils  in  these  schools.  To  say  “He  was  a Saint 
Paul’s  boy,’’  or  “She  was  a Saint  John’s  girl,”  is  suffi- 
cient guaranty  of  intelligent  devotion  to  the  Church. 
Every  dollar,  every  effort,  every  prayer  given  or  made 
in  behalf  of  these  Indian  schools  in  South  Dakota  has 
borne  its  abundant  fruit  and  this  demonstration  of  the 
past  makes  all  the  more  urgent  the  maintenance  and 
continuance  of  the  schools  which  remain.  Indeed,  those 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  work  feel  keenly 
that  the  witness  of  our  Indian  scliools  was  never  more 
needed  than  today.  The  reaction  and  restlessness  among 
young  people,  which  is  everywhere  apparent,  has  also 
invaded  the  Indian  country.  The  influence  of  our 
schools  is  one  of  our  chief  means  of  combating  the  sag 
in  morals  and  laxity  in  religion  which  seems  to  charac- 
terize the  present  moment.  Our  schools  must  be  main- 
tained, and  if  possible  multiplied. 

Saint  Mary’s  School,  Mission 

First  in  point  of  time  among  our  mission  schools  stands 
Saint  Mary’s.  It  was  originally  established  at  Santee, 
Nebraska,  but  after  a few  years  the  building  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  and  it  was  thought  best  to  remove  it  to 
a more  central  spot  in  the  Indian  country.  Accordingly 
it  was  transferred  to  what  was  then  the  desert  land 
of  the  Rosebud  reservation.  The  school  is  in  Todd 


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SAixT  Mary’s  school,  rosebud  reservation 


County,  a little  more  than  half-way  across  the  State  of 
South  Dakota,  near  its  southern  boundary. 

Though  great  changes  have  come  to  the  Indian  coun- 
try, Saint  Mary’s  School  is  still  thirty-five  miles  distant 
from  the  nearest  railway,  to  reach  which  it  is  necessary 
to  go  south  into  Nebraska.  Our  first  school  building 
on  the  Rosebud  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1910,  and  has 
been  replaced  by  a substantial  concrete  structure  with 
an  adjoining  chapel.  The  staff  of  six  or  seven  teachers, 
with  Miss  Priscilla  Bridge  as  principal,  cares  for  some 
fifty  or  more  Indian  girls  of  all  ages,  who  come  from 
the  various  reservations.  The  mission  farm  aids  materi- 
ally in  the  maintenance  of  the  school.  A practical 
farmer  is  in  residence. 

The  town  of  Mission  which  is  rapidly  growing  up 
adjoining  the  school,  was  so  named  because  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  school  at  that  point.  The  citizens  are 
highly  interested  in  the  enterprise  and  try  to  help 
the  school  in  every  possible  way.  Through  the  kind- 


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ness  of  the  Townsite  Company,  we  have  recently  se- 
cured a lot  upon  whicli  we  have  built  a missionary’s 
residence  and  have  offered  us  at  a very  low  price  other 
lots  to  which  it  is  proposed  to  remove  Trinity  Church, 
which  is  at  present  a mile  from  the  school. 

In  addition  to  improvements  made  in  the  school  prop- 
erty last  year,  we  have  been  able  through  the  kind  gifts 
of  friends  to  install  an  electric  lighting  plant  for  the 
school,  so  that  the  old  inadequate  and  dangerous  kero- 
sene lamps  are  a thing  of  the  past. 

A day  at  Saint  Mary’s  would  be  a joy  to  persons 
interested  in  the  mission  work  of  the  Church.  They 
would  find  themselves  in  a comfortable  home  where 
gentleness  and  refinement  prevailed.  The  girls  range 
in  age  from  six  to  eighteen,  are  most  neat  in  their  dress, 
orderly  in  manner,  and  industrious  at  their  school  tasks. 
The  work  of  the  house  is  done  by  them  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  industrial  teaclier.  The  daily  services  in  the 

chapel,  the  classes  in 
sacred  studies  and  the 
Sundays  at  T rinity 
Church,  are  cogent  fac- 
tors in  the  development 
of  the  Christian  life  of 
these  children.  Their 
work  in  the  schoolroom 
grades  well.  Their  en- 
thusiasm for  missions  and 
other  like  matters  is 
notable. 

From  time  to  time 
promising  scholars  from 

>nss  PRISCII-LA  BRIDGE, 

Principal  of  Saint  Mary  s 

School,  Rosebud  Reserve  Elizabeth’s  are  admitted 


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THE  cwnt.s  OF  SAIXT  MAHy's  SCHOOI.  PRESEXTIXG  A PAGEANT 

to  All  Saints  School,  Sioux  Falls.  A girl  who  came  last 
year  from  Saint  Mary’s,  and  who  is  the  daughter  of  one 
of  the  Indian  priests,  has  taken  a leading  place  among 
the  white  pupils  and  was  chosen  president  of  her  class. 

Saint  Elizabeth’s  School.  JVakpala 

The  people  of  Standing  Rock  were  the  last  ones 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Church.  They  con- 
sisted largely  of  bands  led  by  unreconciled  Indians, 
such  as  Sitting  Bull,  who  were  forced  at  last  to  submit 
in  the  unequal  struggle  with  the  white  man.  It  was  in 
line,  therefore,  with  Bishop  Flare’s  policy  that  one  of 
the  early  enterprises  on  this  reservation  was  a school 
for  boys  and  girls,  called  Saint  Elizabeth’s.  The  school 
stands  on  the  bluff  overlooking  the  distant  valley  of  the 
Missouri  and  the  nearer  valley  of  the  Grand  River. 
When  the  school  was  established  the  railroad  terminus 
was  sixty  miles  distant.  Every  pound  of  provisions  and 


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3AIKT  Elizabeth’s  school,  staxdikg  hock  eesebvatiox 


every  foot  of  lumber  had  to  be  freighted  over  these 
vfeary  miles.  It  was  the  most  remote  of  all  the  reserva- 
tions. But,  by  one  of  those  changes  which  take  place 
in  a new  country,  it  is  now  the  most  accessible,  and  the 
transcontinental  trains  passing  to  and  fro  on  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  & Saint  Paul  Railway  run  at  the  foot 
of  the  bluff  on  which  the  school  stands. 

It  is  quite  a group  of  buildings  that  greets  you  as  you 
come  in  sight  of  Saint  Elizabeth’s.  Those  pertaining 
to  the  school  proper  are  the  central  building,  the  chapel 
and  schoolroom  adjoining,  and  a small  cottage  for  the 
teachers.  Near  at  hand,  forming  part  of  the  group,  is 
the  Church  of  Saint  Elizabeth,  which  has  our  largest 
Indian  congregation  on  the  reservation,  the  home  of  the 
Reverend  Philip  J.  Deloria,  and  the  guild  room  and 
Woman’s  Auxiliary  house.  Farther  back  on  the  plateau 
is  the  well  kept  cemetery  of  the  mission,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff  beyond  the  railroad,  lies  the  school 
farm.  This  is  the  only  one  of  Bishop  Hare’s  schools 
for  children  of  both  sexes.  Only  young  boys,  however. 


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are  received.  The  number  in  the  school  is  fifty,  about 
one-third  of  whom  are  boys.  Both  have  their  separate 
dormitory  and  sitting  room  and  both  groups  are  under 
the  care  of  a special  matron. 

While  the  building  at  Saint  Elizabeth’s  are  fairly  ade- 
quate for  our  purpose,  they  ought  to  be  considerably 
improved,  and  we  should  especially  like  to  put  in  a 
lighting  plant  like  that  at  Saint  Mary’s.  More  pictures 
carpets  and  books  would  add  to  the  attractiveness  of 
the  school,  and  the  comfort  of  both  teachers  and  scholars. 
There  ought,  also,  to  be  separate  quarters  for  the 
farmer,  and  if  possible  some  form  of  manual  training, 
such  as  a carpenter  shop,  for  the  boys. 

I'"ive  teachers  form  the  staff  at  Saint  Elizabeth’s,  with 
Deaconess  Gertrude  J.  Baker  at  their  head.  These 
make  a Christian  home  for  the  children,  and  the  rapid 
progress  made  by  most  of  tliem  in  their  studies  and 
industrial  tasks  is  greatly  encouraging.  The  Church 
.Sclmol  and  Service 
Teague  of  Saint  Eliza-  , 
beth’s  last  year  gave  for 
eleven  objects  in  the  five 
fields  of  service  $361.79. 

It  may  be  thought  by 
some  that  the  urgent  need 
of  Church  schools  among 
the  Indians  has  passed, 
but  such  is  not  the  case. 

There  is  an  increasing  de- 
sire among  them  that 
their  children  shall  have 

the  benefit  of  schools  de.'co.vess  gertrude  j.  baker, 

, , . . Principal  of  Saint  Elizabeth’s 

where  mental  training  School 


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and  Church  teaching  are  combined.  Their  experience 
with  government  schools  has  only  deepened  this  desire 
in  the  minds  of  many  parents.  The  Church  is  doing 
no  more  effective  work  than  in  these  two  schools  of 
South  Dakota,  and  the  expenditure  for  producing  this 
result  is  astonishingly  small.  This  condition  would  be 
impossible  were  it  not  for  the  devoted  women  who  give 
themselves  to  the  work  of  teaching  at  salaries  so  inade- 
quate that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  it  is  possible 
to  live  upon  them.  They  eould  receive  two  or  three 
times  as  much  elsewhere.  Yet  it  is  our  common  work 
which  is  being  done  by  them.  Will  not  the  general 
Church  rally  to  its  support  and  so  make  fruitful  the 
sacrifices  of  these  missionaries  ? 

In  addition  to  our  schools  in  South  Dakota,  work  is 
carried  on  among  the  Indian  people  in  more  than  one 
hundred  congregations.  There  are  nearly  5,000  Indian 
communicants  with  a baptized  membership  of  about 
10,000.  Everyone  will  recognize  that  these  figures  are 
a large  proportion  of  the  Indian  population  of  25,000. 

The  total  appropriation  for  the  support  of  Indian 
work  in  South  Dakota  is  at  the  rate  of  $41,000  a year. 

Individuals,  congregations  or  Sunday  schools  desiring 
to  help  in  the  support  of  some  particular  part  of  the 
South  Dakota  work  among  the  Indians,  can  readily  be 
assigned  shares  in  it  by  writing  to  the  Department  of 
]SIissions,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


Copies  of  this  leaflet  may  be  obtained  from  the 
Educational  Division,  Church  Missions  House,  281 
Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  by  asking  for  No.  608. 
Price  5 cents. 


1 Ed.  9-21.  6M.  Sys. 


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